Granty
28-08-2006, 01:30 AM
http://townsvillebulletin.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,20272698%255E14793,00.html
Guns self-destruct
By ANTONY STEWART
28aug06
THE Young Guns will have to overcome a short turnaround of just five days if they are to avoid slipping straight out of the Queensland Cup finals following their 22-8 loss to Redcliffe in the qualifying final yesterday.
In front of a vocal crowd at the Townsville Sports Reserve, North Queensland were their own worst enemies, particularly in the second half, with poor ball control keeping them camped on their own line for long periods.
All four of the Dolphins' tries came on the back of errors from the Young Guns inside their own half.
Coach Mick Crawley said gifting so much easy possession to their opposition was something they could not afford to do against a team like Redcliffe.
"We've played against them three times (this season) and they have never scored a try from outside our 20m, they graft you down and we knew that going into the game," he said.
"We knew that if we forced errors and played silly footy at our own end we would do it tough because they're the sort of side that will graft away."
And that's the way it worked out.
After a see-sawing opening 15 minutes Redcliffe fullback Ryan Cullen, who had easily been the most dangerous player on the field, was rewarded for a number of half breaks when he dived over from dummy half to score.
A blistering 50m sprint to the line from Young Guns winger Brenton Bowen six minutes later got the locals back in the contest and trailing by just two points at halftime (6-4) but it would prove a rare highlight for the defending premiers.
As the errors continued to mount for North Queensland after the break, Cullen again took advantage, with some light stepping taking him across the tryline on a further two occasions.
When former Young Gun Rory Bromley scored in the corner with 10 minutes remaining, the match was over.
"He's got good footwork Ryan Cullen and he's hard to handle," Crawley said of the Dolphins' No. 1.
"They were splitting us up a bit around the markers and as a result we didn't have dominant tackles and we were retreating in defence and he was getting into the broken line which was making it a bit easier on him.
"But they are all things we can address."
Thanks to their second-placed regular- season finish, the Young Guns have a second crack at the finals.
North Queensland will now play Easts, who defeated Tweed Heads 12-4 in the elimination final, as the curtain-raiser to the Cowboys versus Parramatta match at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Friday night.
"It's a very open comp and at our best I don't think any sides can match us but unfortunately in the last couple of weeks we haven't been at our best," Crawley said.
"But we have got another chance next week against Easts and I watched them (on Saturday), they'll be tough to beat, they're very similar to Redcliffe and we're going to have to be a bit better with the football next week."
Guns self-destruct
By ANTONY STEWART
28aug06
THE Young Guns will have to overcome a short turnaround of just five days if they are to avoid slipping straight out of the Queensland Cup finals following their 22-8 loss to Redcliffe in the qualifying final yesterday.
In front of a vocal crowd at the Townsville Sports Reserve, North Queensland were their own worst enemies, particularly in the second half, with poor ball control keeping them camped on their own line for long periods.
All four of the Dolphins' tries came on the back of errors from the Young Guns inside their own half.
Coach Mick Crawley said gifting so much easy possession to their opposition was something they could not afford to do against a team like Redcliffe.
"We've played against them three times (this season) and they have never scored a try from outside our 20m, they graft you down and we knew that going into the game," he said.
"We knew that if we forced errors and played silly footy at our own end we would do it tough because they're the sort of side that will graft away."
And that's the way it worked out.
After a see-sawing opening 15 minutes Redcliffe fullback Ryan Cullen, who had easily been the most dangerous player on the field, was rewarded for a number of half breaks when he dived over from dummy half to score.
A blistering 50m sprint to the line from Young Guns winger Brenton Bowen six minutes later got the locals back in the contest and trailing by just two points at halftime (6-4) but it would prove a rare highlight for the defending premiers.
As the errors continued to mount for North Queensland after the break, Cullen again took advantage, with some light stepping taking him across the tryline on a further two occasions.
When former Young Gun Rory Bromley scored in the corner with 10 minutes remaining, the match was over.
"He's got good footwork Ryan Cullen and he's hard to handle," Crawley said of the Dolphins' No. 1.
"They were splitting us up a bit around the markers and as a result we didn't have dominant tackles and we were retreating in defence and he was getting into the broken line which was making it a bit easier on him.
"But they are all things we can address."
Thanks to their second-placed regular- season finish, the Young Guns have a second crack at the finals.
North Queensland will now play Easts, who defeated Tweed Heads 12-4 in the elimination final, as the curtain-raiser to the Cowboys versus Parramatta match at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Friday night.
"It's a very open comp and at our best I don't think any sides can match us but unfortunately in the last couple of weeks we haven't been at our best," Crawley said.
"But we have got another chance next week against Easts and I watched them (on Saturday), they'll be tough to beat, they're very similar to Redcliffe and we're going to have to be a bit better with the football next week."